A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court ruling against charter schools seeking access to county “capital outlay funds.”
Writing for the panel, Judge Samuel Ervin IV notes:
[B]y specifically stating that charter schools are entitled to funding from the State allotment and the local current expense fund, the General Assembly intended to preclude charter schools from having access to county capital outlay funds. As a result, we conclude that, since “a county has no power to appropriate funds unless authorized to do so by the General Assembly,” Hughey v. Cloninger, 297 N.C. 86, 88, 253 S.E.2d 898, 900 (1979), and since there is no statutory provision authorizing charter schools to receive monies from county capital outlay funds, the relevant statutory provisions do not allow charter schools access to county capital outlay funds.
In addition, other statutory provisions governing the operation of charter schools support our conclusion that the General Assembly intended for charter schools to be responsible for providing any needed physical facilities using their own resources.
